Arthur de Laborde / Photo credit: LOU BENOIST / AFP
A few days after the riots which affected many cities all over France, Elisabeth Borne went to Lisieux in Calvados on Thursday. Faced with residents and traders still in shock, the Prime Minister wanted to reassure, even if everyone fears new waves of violence.
Elisabeth Borne is on the ground this Thursday, in Lisieux, in Calvados, one of the very many cities affected by the wave of urban riots. The head of government was able to exchange with traders whose store was vandalized.
“We’ll make sure it’s over”
Elisabeth Borne notes the extent of the damage in Lisieux. In this district of the upper town, which is relatively calm in normal times, during the riots, around fifty individuals caused chaos by attacking several businesses and setting fire to the municipal police station which had just opened its doors. The Prime Minister therefore faces residents in shock. “I suffered an emotional shock. It looked like a civil war,” recalls a resident. “We will mobilize, then we will also make sure that it is over,” assures the Prime Minister for her part.
But for the moment, no arrests have been made and the profile of the rioters surprises the police. “We are in the process of identifying the perpetrators. They are young people, or very young people. We were confronted with minors, young adults and many girls, which is very curious”, detailed a police officer at the Prime Minister.
Elisabeth Borne also tries to reassure traders, like this manager who saw his tobacco bar reduced to ashes. “You have insurance. We asked them to be kind to the deadlines,” she assures him. In this district, shopkeepers and residents are now afraid of seeing the same scenes of chaos on a regular basis and fear July 14 in particular.